Mr Ashish Pednekar has taken over as Chairman, Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI) for 2017-19, who has been Chairman-elect of the Federation for 2015-17. Mr Pednekar’s installation ceremony was held at a grand evening function on September 22 in Mumbai preceded by the AGM of FFFAI. Earlier, at the AGM Mr AV Vijaykumar has been elected as new Chairman-elect and Mr PS Atree, Mr Rajesh Verma, Mr S Ramakrishna, Mr. Shashidhar V. Hebbar, Mr Sudip Dey and Mr. Kartik Pancholi have been elected as Vice Chairmen for the 2017-19 tenure. In addition, Mr Amit Kamat and Mr Vinod Sharma have been re-elected (unopposed) for the Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasure posts respectively.

Known as the man of action, perfection and punctuality Mr Pednekar joined his family business in the year 1999 as Managing Director of GVP Group. GVP Group is an established and leading Full Service International Freight Forwarder in India having offices across India and a Global Network of Associates. GVP Group is specialized in ‘Door to-Door International Logistics’ with its staff strength of over 100 people.

A very well known personality in the Shipping & Maritime fraternity Mr Pednekar is possessing tremendous experience in various aspects of business.

Apart from Chairman, FFFAI, Mr Pednekar also currently playing and previously played the following crucial roles in various Trade Bodies:

On taking over charges as Chairman, FFFAI, Mr Pednekar emphasized on strengthening the organization and working very hard to make the ‘FIATA World Congress 2018’, which is being hosted by FFFAI and will be held from September 25-29 in New Delhi. “Customs Brokers community, logistics industry, exim trade and the Nation’s economy at large are expecting significantly from FFFAI. And, it is our pride that both industry stake holders and the Government of India have recognized Indian Customs Brokers led by FFFAI the force to be reckoned with to script the success story of GST, TFA and Make in India,” maintained Mr Pednekar. He also shared that soon FFFAI would meet all relevant central ministries, government agencies and custodians/facilitators to resolve pending issues which have been hindering the speed of cargo clearance at different levels. “We would also interact regularly with the government and industry stakeholders for their support to make the FIATA World Congress a huge success. I would not leave any stone unturned to bring FFFAI and CBs always under limelight,” he added.

Apart from a large number of customs brokers, freight forwarders, logistics industry players, custodians, exporters/importers, government agencies, Mr Pednekar’s installation ceremony was also graced by Mr Deepak Vasant Kesarkar, Minister of State for Home (Rural), Finance and Planning, Maharashtra State Government; Mr Gopal Shetty, MP, Mumbai North; Mr Vivek Johri, Chief Commissioner of Jawaharlal Nehru Customs House (JNCH); Mr Samir J Shah, immediate past Chairman, FFFAI and several other dignitaries. “Big changes in FFFAI and so to Customs Broking, Freight Forwarding and Logistics business are on the horizon. The grand installation ceremony of our new Chairman and the conviction of the newly elected office bearers and EC members for 2017-19 are the testimonies that we are going to witness tremendous developments in our industry in next two years. Meanwhile, we have witnessed several changes at the policy level in respect of trade facilitation as well as the mindset of our fraternity for acquiring domain knowledge and proficiency. These would definitely push forward the exim trade of our country phenomenally with great support from Customs Brokers, Freight Forwarders and Logistics Practitioners,” said Mr Shah, who has been instrumental in bringing about many changes in FFFAI as well as in government policies.